Archive for the ‘Peter Brock’ tag

Shelby American’s original racing Mustang, the G.T. 350R, captured the SCCA’s B-Production championship from 1965-’67, but its designers still believed the car could have been better. Next month, on the 50th anniversary of the G.T. 350R’s first win, Peter Brock (keynote speaker at the 2015 Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance) and other members of the Shelby American “Original Venice Crew” will have a chance to prove this by debuting a pair of custom-built 1965 G.T. 350R Mustangs at California’s Willow Springs race track.

Brock, Marietta, Sutton and Carling (The Original Venice Crew) with Randy Richardson of LA SAAC.

The idea for the project came about at the 2013 SEMA show, when Brock and colleagues from Shelby American’s Venice, California, days met at dinner to discuss past projects. It didn’t take long for the team to realize that they still had the drive to build the car the original G.T. 350R could have been, and, perhaps remarkably given the team’s overall age (ranging from 67 to 77 years old), they still had the ability to execute such a plan. Preparation began in mid-2014, with the goal of producing two cars in time to commemorate the G.T. 350R’s February 14, 1965, win at Texas’s Green Valley Raceway.

Sutton and Marietta in engine bay.

As competitive as the G.T. 350R proved to be, the car was still designed and built with a tight budget and an even tighter time frame. An independent rear suspension (IRS) was planned, and Ford’s original cost estimates totaled $15,000 for the IRS project. Eager to get word out, Ford’s Competition department advertised that 100 lucky buyers would soon be able to purchase a “Cobra-Mustang” with an independent rear suspension, similar to the one in Ford’s GT40 race car. A closer examination of costs showed that the $15,000 estimate was off by roughly $70,000, so the project was dropped after just a few prototypes were built. Though Shelby American tested an IRS, it never made it into the G.T. 350R models that were raced.

Brock inspects the revised front valance.

Brock believed that the 350R would have been a better car with an independent rear suspension, so that’s just one of the changes envisioned for the “new” 1965 G.T. 350R. Two cars will be built, but only one will receive the IRS, while the other makes do with the traditional live axle; once the cars are tested at Willow Springs, the difference in lap times should answer the question “What if?”

Other changes planned for the cars include a reshaped front valance for improved airflow, altered brake ducts for better cooling, a repositioned front suspension (modified beyond the original’s lowered upper control arm pivot point) and a redesigned Plexiglas rear window that should enhance the car’s top speed, particularly on long straights. All these ideas originated in late 1964, but the original Shelby team ran out of time (and in some cases, money) before the designs could be implemented.

Sutton and Marietta fabricating.

The starting point for both cars will be K-Code 1965 Ford Mustang fastbacks. Each car will be stripped down in preparation for its race car conversion, then each will receive the modifications necessary (such as the fiberglass hood, Plexiglas side and rear windows, roll bar and enlarged front disc brakes) to update the cars to G.T. 350R specifications. As with the original G.T. 350Rs, the output from the rebuilt 289-cu.in. V-8s should be in the area of 350 horsepower, a significant gain over the road-going G.T. 350’s 306 horsepower.

The build is taking place at Brock Racing Enterprises in Henderson, Nevada, and while volunteers (and other members of the Original Venice Crew) will be on hand to assist, the bulk of the work is expected to be done by Brock, Ted Sutton, Jim Marietta and Duane Carling. On February 13, the completed cars will be shipped to California’s Willow Springs circuit for testing, where setup drivers will include former Shelby American stars (or immediate family) Jerry Rick Titus, John Morton and Allen Grant.

On February 14, the 50th anniversary of the G.T. 350R’s debut win, the cars will return to the track to commemorate the occasion, as well as to lead a two-day open track session for owners of G.T. 350Rs and other Ford-badged performance cars.

IRS assembly on hoist

Other plans for the three-day weekend include a Shelby American team member reunion; a Los Angeles Shelby American Auto Club (LA SAAC) car show; a display of cars from the Lynn Park Cobra Collection; and a dinner banquet (with panel discussion) on Saturday night. For additional details, visit LASAAC.BigCartel.com.

UPDATE (23.March): We just received additional images from the February 14 event, courtesy of William Deary. Enjoy the gallery below.

The California native’s foray into the auto industry began at age 17 with an award-winning customized 1946 Ford, built before Brock attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. At just 19, Brock became the youngest designer hired by General Motors, quickly contributing to the iconic lines of the 1963 split-window Corvette coupe. After leaving GM, he became Carroll Shelby’s first employee as a high-performance driving instructor, but his keen eye for design and his racing background led Brock to develop the groundbreaking Shelby Daytona Coupe that both decimated the GT class at the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans and captured the GT class World Championship. In 1965, Brock founded Brock Racing Enterprises, which, by 1969, had become Datsun’s West Coast factory race team, winning several SCCA CP/Class National and SCCA 2.5-Liter Trans-Am championships through the ’72 season.

More recently, Brock and his wife, Gayle, have been covering endurance sports car races both in the U.S. and in Europe. Brock’s keynote address will accompany the concours dinner on Saturday, September 26, at the Gideon Putnam Resort in Saratoga Springs, New York. A profile of Peter Brock, written by associate editor Terry Shea, appeared in the August 2012 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines magazine.

Presented by Gullwing Motor Cars and sponsored by Chubb Collector Car Insurance and ROGO Fasteners, the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance will take place the weekend of September 25-27 in Saratoga Spa State Park, adjacent to the Saratoga Automobile Museum in Saratoga Springs. Ed Lucas – noted for his work in the collector car community – will be returning for a second consecutive year as our Master of Ceremonies throughout the event weekend. This year, the Concours will honor six featured marques, complemented by our six traditional classes. For a detailed list of classes, instructions on how to submit a vehicle for consideration and additional concours information, visit Hemmings.com/Events. A portion of the proceeds benefits the non-profit educational programs at the Saratoga Automobile Museum. To learn more, visit SaratogaAutoMuseum.org.

Given both of their ties to Ford Motor Company during the Sixties, one would have thought Carroll Shelby and Alejandro de Tomaso would have crossed paths more than once, but the two (with plenty of input from Peter Brock) only collaborated on one project that resulted in two cars, one of which is this 1965 De Tomaso Sport 5000 prototype for sale on Hemmings.com. The story of how it came to be is included below, and the car itself appears largely unrestored and original, thanks to its shelving shortly after it debuted. From the seller’s description:

This Sport 5000 came to be in late 1964 when De Tomaso had just launched the Vallelunga road car with its unusual backbone chassis. While the design of the Vallelunga was sound and the vehicle itself an absolute beauty, the use of a hopelessly underpowered and diminutive four-cylinder Ford engine as a stressed member gave the car only excellent handling but no real overall performance as a sports car or the potential as a racer.

One of the easiest and cheapest ways to get more power out of the Vallelunga was to fit a compact and powerful American V8 engine. This is where Shelby and Brock entered the story as he supplied a competition version of the small-block Ford V-8 mated to one of Brock’s most timeless design concepts. Many have guessed that Shelby believed this new V-8 engined De Tomaso could be a possible replacement for the aging Cooper based King Cobras. In any case, Shelby and Brock certainly took the project seriously putting forth amazing effort and energy into both the 7.0-lite P70 and our subject vehicle here, the Sport 5000.

To accept the more powerful engine, De Tomaso made a variety of modifications to the design of the backbone chassis. Unlike the more familiar backbone chassis used by Lotus, the Italian variant did not have an Y-fork to support the engine and suspension. Well ahead of his time, De Tomaso used the engine as a fully stressed member. It left observers in period wondering what would happen to the engine and its internals once force was applied to it. Their worries were justified with the four-cylinder Ford engine but the HiPo 289 was a far more rigid and overall not that much heavier engine block. The reinforced back-bone chassis was also up to the task and mounted to it was suspension that followed a more familiar pattern with the exception of the rear mounting points; brackets on the clutch housing instead of somewhere on the chassis. The rolling chassis was exceptionally light due to its minimalistic design, which would later (in better executed form) would become the norm particularly for single seater racers.

Shelby tasked his prized designer Peter Brock to pen a roadster body for the new De Tomaso racing car the likes of which are absolutely pure Brock genius! The finished designs were sent to Italy to be turned into aluminium by local metal workers. As similar design for the P70 was also used to body the last of the King Cobras, known as the Lang Cooper. In January of 1965 De Tomaso took the wraps off the P70, which used a mock-up chassis and a poor interpretation of Brock’s design. Disappointed by the Italians’ work, Shelby sent Brock over to personally supervise the construction of a new body. Brock worked alongside Medardo Fantuzzi in the Fantuzzi workshop. The result was the completion of two similar but equally different low bodies, dominated by a large, moveable rear wing with both featuring full doors to make them elligible for GT-racing. After each was mated to their rolling chassis, they were publicly identified for the first time as the Sport 5000 and the P70. Our subject vehicle here, the Sport 5000’s name was derived after its 5-litre engine with light alloy cylinder heads, pistons and connecting rods which along with four Weber carburetors, special cam, cam timing and ignition timing allowed the small-block Ford to produce up 475 bhp at 7,300 rpm!

Some time later in 1965 Shelby withdrew his backing of these projects due to mounting pressure from Ford corporate officials. It is generally accepted that all his efforts were needed to turn the Ford GT40 into a Le Mans winner, which he duly did. With Shelby out of the picture, De Tomaso had to look for another backer. In coach builder Ghia he found an unlikely sponsor, which led to the car to be renamed to “Ghia De Tomaso” before the Turin debut. The car was officially completed on September 3rd, 1965 when a formal “Certificato d’Origine (Certificate of Origin) was issued for de Tomaso’s newest creation. This itself is one of the more interesting ironies surrounding this vehicle. The car was actually built and bodied by Fantuzzi but upon completion was adorned with Ghia body badges and they are still present to this day! The Ghia De Tomaso was shown again in February of 1966; probably the last time the car was shown in public. At the time of the Road & Track article Brock had left Shelby and set up his own design firm.

De Tomaso subsequently modified the existing design and fielded this car as the De Tomaso Sport 5000 in the the Mugello 500 km race. On the starting grid, the deTomaso easily pulled away from a Ferrari 250LM as a result of it’s significantly lower weight (800kgs/1,760lbs) and massive down force as a result of the “Brock” designed adjustable rear wing.) Unfortunately the car was forced to retire in the opening laps with an electrical ground that shorted out the battery. It was the last time the public saw this exciting sports racer. The last time the public heard of the Sport 5000 was in 1967, when it appeared on the entry list for the 12 Hours of Sebring and then later at the 1,000km Monza race in Italy, but in both cases the car never showed up and it remained quietly in storage collecting dust over the next 40 years.

Some good came from the project though as the backbone chassis and much of the running gear was later used for the beautiful De Tomaso Mangusta road car. Interestingly Magnusta is the only natural enemy to Cobra. As noted above, the Sport 5000 remained in storage at the deTomaso workshops and only resurfaced publicly after Alejandro de Tomaso’s death in 2004. One year later in 2005 de Tomaso’s estate sold the car to Belgian Collector, Paul Grant who ran the car in several historic races before it was sold to a USA based enthusiast prior to coming to Symbolic earlier this month.

De Tomaso Sport 5000 Today: Incredibly, nearly 50 years after being given its first public debut, the Sport 5000 remains remarkably well preserved as well as fully sorted and completely functional. The cars paint and livery are untouched as completed by Fantuzzi under Peter Brock’s watchful eye. The original HiPo 475 bhp, 289-cubic-inch engine remains fitted, although freshly rebuilt and fully serviced. It is mated to the original De Tomaso designed, Collati inspired five-speed transaxle. The car is an absolute blast to drive with GT40 performance but significantly better visibility.

* The first Geek Squad car? Given that Geek Squad was founded long before VW released the New Beetle, it wasn’t one of those. Rather, as Motoramic wrote this week, it was a 1958 Simca Aronde, followed by a 1960 Ford Falcon, an ice cream truck, and a 1953 Morris Minor.

Peter Brock spent just two years working for General Motors, but during that time the young designer penned a design study that adapted the Corvair’s independent rear suspension to the Corvette. His work was admired by Bill Mitchell, and factored heavily into Larry Shinoda’s design for the 1959 Stingray Racer, an experimental car that would ultimately lead to the creation of the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray. Later this month, Brock will speak on Corvette design at a pair of California events, promoting his new book, Corvette Sting Ray: Genesis of an American Icon.

Brock’s path to GM was, in a word, unconventional. After completing high school, Brock attended Stanford University, where it was expected that he would pursue a degree in engineering and a career as an architect. Having won the Oakland Roadster Show with his 1946 Fordillac convertible while still in high school, Brock’s passion lay elsewhere, and when he heard of a school for car design in Southern California, the young designer headed south for spring break. A few conversations with students at the Art Center College was all the convincing that Brock needed, so he found the admissions office and attempted to enroll. Told that he’d need to show his portfolio to be considered for admission, Brock requested clarification on the term, and then marched out to his car to create a portfolio on three-ring binder paper. Impressed by Brock’s talent, or perhaps his audacity, the school agreed to admit him, and for a brief period, all was well.

Unhappy with his new career choice, Brock’s family refused to pay tuition or room and board after just five semesters. Desperate for money, Brock called GM’s Chuck Jordan, whom he’d met during his brief time at the Art Center College, and requested a job with General Motors. Jordan agreed to fly Brock to Detroit for an interview, and shortly afterward, the 19-year-old became the youngest designer ever hired by the automaker. Working under Bill Mitchell and studio head Bob Veryzer, Brock’s job was to take the designs Mitchell had seen in Europe (such as Carrozzeria Touring’s Alfa Romeo Disco Volante) and translate them into something tangible for the American market. The design themes for what was to become the experimental XP-87 Stingray Racer were developed, and Mitchell liked the direction that Brock was taking the car down; though Larry Shinoda would ultimately get design credit for the car, it’s safe to say that a portion of the groundwork for its development came from Brock. Despite his early success, Brock quickly grew restless at GM, which was still entrenched in the “anti-performance” period. Leaving behind the promise of a bright future in Detroit, the 21-year-old Brock turned his back on the big corporation mentality and headed west to launch his career in racing.

1959 Corvette Stingray Racer. Photo courtesy GM Media Archives.

Returning to Southern California, Brock raced when his budget allowed and found work with Max Balchowsky at Max’s Hollywood Motors. It was there that he met Carroll Shelby, and a new door soon opened for Brock. His first job for Shelby was running the Texan’s high-performance driving school, but it wasn’t long before his design skills came into play for Shelby American. Credited with the design for Shelby’s Daytona Coupe, Brock also reportedly penned logos and liveries, and even tried his hand at writing marketing copy for Shelby American.

After his time with Shelby, Brock started Brock Racing Enterprises, which offered design services and raced import cars from manufacturers like Hino, Toyota, and (later) Datsun. By the early 1970s, BRE Datsuns were winning SCCA National Championships with Datsun 240Zs and Trans-Am Series championships with Datsun 510s. As the changing rules (and looming energy crisis) made racing less appealing, Brock looked outside the automotive industry for his next opportunity, and spent a decade building Ultralite Products into the largest hang glider company in the world.

His first passion eventually called him back, and he returned to the Art Center College (now the Art Center School of Design) as an instructor. Rounding out his resume, Brock has been a motorsport photographer; helped to design the Brock Coupe, a Shelby Daytona Coupe replica (and the car that the Australian Peter Brock died racing in Western Australia); and has authored books on both the Corvette and the Shelby Daytona Coupe. His accolades include lifetime achievement awards from the International Society for Vehicle Preservation and the Art Center College of Design, along with the Phil Hill Award from the Road Racing Drivers Club, recognizing Brock’s contributions to the sport of road racing.

Brock will be at the Automobile Driving Museum in El Segundo, California, on Saturday, April 12, answering questions and signing copies of his latest book from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. On April 27, at noon, Brock will give a presentation on Corvette design at the Blackhawk Automotive Museum in Blackhawk, California, and a book signing session will follow.

The Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, is likely among the world’s most challenging motor racing circuits. Home to the infamous Bathurst 1000 endurance race, “The Mountain,” as the track is known, blends high-speed straights, off-camber corners, elevation changes and blind corner entries, while further testing a driver’s fortitude with limited run-off room in key sections. No driver has ever mastered “The Mountain” in quite the same way as Australian Peter Brock, whose record of nine wins in the Bathurst 500/1000 stands to this day, eight years after his tragic death.

Brock was born in Richmond, Victoria, Australia in February of 1945, and raised in the rural town of Hurstbridge. His father was a mechanic, while his mother was a former tennis champion; from them, he inherited his mechanical and driving ability, along with a fierce competitive spirit that would see him achieve the seemingly impossible behind the wheel of a race car. Brock’s first car was an aging Austin 7 that lacked both brakes and a body. The story goes that the body was hacked off with his father’s ax to save weight, while the car’s lack of brakes taught the young driver to scan the road ahead and anticipate obstacles (as well as how to slide a car to a stop). In postwar Australia, money to fix the brakes on a project car was likely hard to justify.

Brock’s first race car was equally humble, built from an Austin A30 stuffed full of Holden engine in a backyard “chook shed,” or chicken coop. Supported by his parents, Brock began campaigning the blue and yellow Austin in whatever events he could find, and it wasn’t long before his abilities behind the wheel came to the attention of Holden Team Manager Harry Firth. In 1969, Firth asked Brock to drive for Holden in the Bathurst 500 (which would be expanded to 1000 kilometers with the 1973 race), and with co-driver Des West delivered a third place finish in his first professional outing. It would also signal the start of a relationship with Holden that would last nearly four decades.

Brock’s first win at Bathurst 500 came in 1972, and he’d post additional victories in the event in 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1987. His 1979 victory is among the most impressive achievements in motorsports history; not only did “The King of the Mountain” win by an astonishing six-lap margin, but he also set a new course record on the very final lap. Other competitors would have enjoyed a leisurely last lap, preserving the car to avoid any risk of mechanical disaster. For “Peter Perfect,” however, there was no such thing as cruising to an easy victory.

Brock’s six-lap win at Bathurst, 1979.

Brock also excelled at the Sandown 500, a race generally held in the month before Bathurst. Here, Brock posted another nine wins, including seven consecutive victories stretching from 1975 to 1981. He’d take the Australian Touring Car Championship three times (in 1974, 1978 and 1980), and still holds the record of the most pole positions in the series (57 in 212 starts). Though most closely associated with Holden, Brock also spent time behind the wheel of Porsches, BMWs, Volvos, Peugeots and even Fords, the arch-rival to the Holden brand. His reach extended beyond Australia as well, as Brock competed at Le Mans (in 1976, 1981 and 1984), in the 1984 World Endurance Championship, and in the 1987 World Touring Car Championship.

Period interviews portray Brock as a complex individual, who was simultaneously a family man and a playboy. He was a risk-taker on the track, yet he preached road safety and actively campaigned for Victoria’s effort to crack down on drunk driving. Throughout much of his career, Brock carried the number 05 on his cars, a reminder to fans of the blood alcohol content limit for driving under the influence in the Australian state. He hosted numerous automotive and public safety-related television series as well, as Brock was one of the most beloved and recognized figures in Australian motorsports.

In 1997, Brock retired from racing to focus his efforts on the Peter Brock Foundation, which supports (to this day) underprivileged children in Australia via private and corporate donations. His retirement didn’t last long, as Brock returned to the cockpit to drive limited events in 2002, 2003 and 2004. He’d race the occasional event for fun or charity as well, which is why Brock was behind the wheel of a borrowed 2001 Daytona Sportscar (based upon the Shelby Daytona coupe, designed by American namesake Pete Brock) during the 2006 Targa West rally.

Three kilometers from a stage finish, near Gidgegannup, Western Australia, Brock approached a left hand bend carrying what spectators later described as a reasonable amount of speed. His car left the road surface, and Brock was unable to recover from the slide on slick dirt and grass; the Daytona struck a tree at high speed, and Brock suffered fatal injuries in the crash. His co-driver, Mick Hone, was taken to the hospital with severe but survivable injuries.

To fans, it didn’t make sense; surely Peter Perfect was beyond such death by misadventure. Victoria offered Brock’s family a state funeral, and in October of 2008 the National Motor Racing Museum in Bathurst, New South Wales, erected a statue of Brock atop his number 05 Holden, celebrating a perpetual victory at Mount Panorama. While it’s human nature to mourn Brock’s passing, it’s worth remembering that Brock died doing what he loved; the rest of us can only hope to be so lucky.

Along with a number of exquisite cars, this year’s Quail, A Motorsports Gathering will pay tribute to both Australian racing driver American car designer Peter Brock and Martin Swig, the founder of the California Mille.

Based on Italy’s Mille Miglia, the California Mille is a 1,000-mile jaunt through some of the nicest driving roads in northern California that takes place in early spring each year. Martin Swig, a self-proclaimed car guy and mega-car dealer who loved all classic cars but had a particular affection for Italian makes, created the event and was primarily responsible for its continued success. Though he died in 2012, his sons have made sure that the event will continue.

Brock, known as the “King of the Mountain” for winning Australia’s Bathurst 1000 nine times, got his start driving an Austin Seven with no brakes and no body that he bought for five British pounds. He began racing Australian touring cars – mostly Holdens – in the late 1960s – and ultimately captured the Australian Touring Car Championship three times. He died in 2006 while competing in the Targa West rally.

Other highlights of the upcoming Quail show include a 1960 DB4GT, prepared in Italy by Zagato and one of 30 left- hand drive examples, along with a 1965 DB5 Bond Car; both of which will be part of the Quail’s recognition of Aston Martin’s centennial. The Quail will also highlight Lamborghini’s 50th anniversary.

As in the past, Bonhams will hold its annual Quail Lodge auction that same weekend. The featured auction centerpiece will be a 1931 Bentley 4-1/2-liter supercharged Le Mans, one of only 50 supercharged examples and one of only three cars built to the Le Mans specifications. A factory prototype of the Bugatti Type 35 and a one-of-a-kind 1953 Ferrari 250 Europa Coupé Vignale are also slated to cross the auction stage.

The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering will take place Friday, August 16, on the grounds of the Quail Lodge in Carmel, California. For more information, visit Quail Lodge Events.

Each year, the folks at Carlisle Events give enthusiasts more and more reasons to attend the already popular Import & Kit Nationals, one of the largest multi-marque imported car shows in the U.S. For this year’s show, organizers have added an appearance by legendary designer and race team owner Peter Brock and a Friday night block party in Carlisle to the usual long list of attractions.

Brock, today an acclaimed automotive photojournalist, designed the World Championship-winning Cobra Daytona Coupe for Shelby, and went on to greater fame with his team of Brock Racing Enterprises (BRE) Datsuns. Brock will be on hand throughout the weekend, reunited with the Datsun 510 sedan that won the 1972 2.5 Trans-Am Challenge championship.

For the Friday night block party, parking in the downtown will be reserved for showfield vehicles that display their dash plaques and/or showfield stickers. Over the years, many participants have taken the opportunity to renew old friendships and make new ones in the restaurants and taverns of Carlisle after the showfield has closed on Friday evening, and the addition of the block party should encourage even more after-hours socialization.

Club participation has long been the backbone of the Carlisle import show, with many organizations and chapters holding their own regional or national gatherings in conjunction with the show. Carlisle will continue to recognize their importance with its “Coolest Club Hangout” award, and its annual awards to the three largest clubs that turn out. (Spoiler alert: Saabs@Carlisle is the perennial favorite.) Audis, Volvos, Triumph Spitfires, Opels, Datsun Z-cars and French cars of every stripe have been well represented in recent years, too.

Each year, there’s a featured marque; this year, it’s the cars of Sweden. There will be an Invitational Display in Building Y, and Standard of Excellence judging to reward the best of the best. The swap meet and car corral return, as will seminars on car restoration and repair, the ever-popular autocross, and the “passport” promotion, which gives attendees incentive to visit every section of the showfield.

Hemmings editors will be at the show, so please say hello if you see us. Just remember, the line for the shoo-fly pie starts behind us.

The Carlisle Import & Kit Nationals will take place May 17-19. For more information, visit CarlisleEvents.com.

Perhaps the most memorable off-track highlight associated with the recent Rolex 24 at Daytona is the annual awards dinner presented by the Road Racing Drivers Club, a celebrated group that can trace its origins to 1952. Now led by Bobby Rahal, the RRDC honored some genuine luminaries during its 42nd annual gathering in Daytona Beach.

First up was Peter Brock, who was presented with the 2013 Phil Hill Award, bestowed for outstanding service to road racing. Brock is unquestionably worthy, bursting with automotive DNA. Besides being a racer and photojournalist, he remains the youngest (19) stylist ever hired by General Motors, where he claims credit for the original sketches of what became the Corvette Stingray. He then went on to work for Carroll Shelby, for whom he designed the landmark Cobra Daytona coupe. Interestingly, Brock’s middle name is Elbert – for his grandfather, E.J. Hall, designer of the Liberty engine and co-founder of the Hall-Scott Motor Company.

The RRDC presented the Bob Akin Award to a pivotal figure in the history of American motorsports and automotive history, Miles C. Collier. Now retired from the business world, Collier founded the Revs Institute for Automotive Research in Naples, Florida, which is also the home of the famed Collier Collection, numbering more than 100 historic vehicles. He was active as a driver in both SCCA and vintage racing. He is also a recognized artist. The award is named for past RRDC president Bob Akin, who was lost in a 2002 racing accident.

Also recognized was Starworks Motorsport principal Peter Baron, who received the Bob Snodgrass Award of Excellence in honor of a highly successful Grand-Am season. The award is named for the famed founder of Brumos Porsche in Jacksonville, Florida. The Mark Donohue Award, which recognized the most outstanding performance during the most recent SCCA Runoffs, was presented to Spec Ford Racer champion Cliff White by Donohue’s son, David.

* Disco Quinn, the Speed Hero, has a grand plan. Not only is he going to sell everything he owns to go live and work in Australia for a year (jealous!), but he intends to break Peter Brock’s Bathurst lap record of 2:20.5 while he’s there. Now stop using the term YOLO, Quinn.

* Most Bugattis received coachwork in Europe, so it’s a rare opportunity to see one draped with an American body, as was the case with the Derham-bodied Bugatti T43 that Tim Martin at The Old Motor recently highlighted.

* Whatever your opinion of modern NASCAR, Diandra Leslie-Pelecky’s blog Building Speed, which focuses on the science behind NASCAR, is good reading for anybody interested in the automotive applications of science. (via)